Bus hijacker surrenders, frees hostages in Bulgaria

SOFIA, Bulgaria 
(Reuters) - An armed man surrendered to police after hijacking a bus and holding 37 people aboard hostage for two hours in Bulgaria on Tuesday, officials said.

The 33-year-old man had forced the bus driver to stop at a gas station near the town of Lovech, 125 km (80 miles) east of the capital Sofia, demanding meetings with journalists and police officers.

"The case ended successfully...The man surrendered and handed over his gun. All the passengers are in good health," a police spokeswoman said.

Police officers have searched the hijacked bus, traveling from Sofia to the Black Sea town of Varna, and found no explosives even though the hijacker had said a bomb was planted in the luggage compartment.

He had also asked police to bring a man who he blamed for a car accident last year which he says resulted in his girlfriend having a miscarriage.

One of the released passengers told national TV Channel One by telephone that the hijacker was not violent.

"I was a little bit scared, especially after I heard there was a bomb on the bus. But he told us that no one would be hurt," Maria Dimitrova, 20, said.